When people suddenly become displaced from their homes in disaster situations, or when there is an excess of people in a given location that cannot accommodate enough inhabitants, there is a often a need to provide living and working quarters for an unknown amount of time. Often, school gymnasiums or auxiliary rooms in dormitory buildings are converted into living quarters, with sleeping cots or surplus furniture set up to accommodate the basic needs of large numbers of people. When those people are displaced for long periods of time, or in situations where long-term accommodations demand needs for daily living beyond sleeping, such accommodations may not be suitable.
The prior art shows a number of fold-up living spaces and multi-functional devices, but these are not suitable for providing the necessary accommodations mentioned above, with suitable flexibility, utility, and compactness for storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,365, for example, appears to disclose a mobile enclosure, much like a “pop-up” tent used for camping. The patent itself deals mostly with the spring and hinged mechanisms used to open and close the floor and ceiling panels that unfold to enclose a small space. This invention is meant to be hauled around as a vehicle trailer, and it merely provides space without any particular functionality to meet daily living needs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,715 appears to disclose a bed/sleeping platform, a desk, and storage. The height of the bed is considered as a fundamental design feature and the mechanism involved in raising and lowering the bed platform changes the height of the desk when the bed is flipped up and then lowers the desk to allow the bed to rest at an optimal height. However, this invention only permits one usable height can only be used either as a bed, or as a desk, but not a bed and desk simultaneously. It would be desirable to provide both a bed and a desk for simultaneous use. Additionally, this device does not fold up compactly for storage and easy mobility when not in use. Additionally, this device is constructed as a box-like piece of furniture that inherently weighs more than is desirable for compact storage and easy portability, and comprises a series of rectangular frames made stiff with rigid “moment connections” at all corner connections that further highlight that this device cannot be compactly folded and stored. Fundamentally this device is a bed/desk convertible which does not permit simultaneous use of both bed and desk and which cannot be compactly folded for storage and easy movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,276 is an installation piece rather than a mobile unit and provides only an operable sleeping surface without portability. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,103,373 and 5,875,502 are for sleeping only, and are designed to save space for other functions in a room when not being used for sleeping. They do not provide multifunctional capability or portability, and are attached in a fixed location.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,874, like U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,365, is used to provide a flexible enclosed space for any number of functions, but does not provide specific sleeping and working functionality with that space. This device must be towed by a large vehicle and certainly cannot be moved by one individual human being without additional external power.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,865 contains a storage space, and unfolds to provide a sleeping platform. However, it does not have a distinct working surface or desk and is more like a storage cabinet with a compartment for a bed similar to many fold-out couches. When this device is collapsed it provides storage but not increased mobility since it remains a large wooden box sitting on the floor. It cannot be collapsed into a thin, substantially hexahedronal configuration and easily rolled away.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,769, for a combination bed and desk, is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,865, but it also contains a desk surface. This device, however, has a stationary desk surface that is unchanged by any deployment or storage of the sleeping surface, which does not at any time fold up for storage. Also, this device demands the displacement of the two large storage units before the bed can deploy. One must first change the singular desk unit into 3 separate parts disconnected from one other to enable its sleeping function. It does not remain connected as one cohesive unit throughout its transformation from compact upright box to deployed multifunctional dormitory, as would be desirable for efficient deployment for use and compaction for storage between uses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,911 discloses an adjustable bed for rehabilitation or leisure purposes that, when deployed, gives access to some storage space. The sleeping platform is intended to be fully adjustable in terms of levelness, height, form and position, because of its intended use for rehabilitation purposes. A system that is not intended for such use can be greatly simplified. Importantly, this invention requires a mechanical motor to operate whereas it is desirable to enable operation for a foldable dormitory space with multiple utilitarian functions solely by human power, i.e., omitting any type of external power to convert between said closed configuration for storage and said open configuration for use, except as provided by a human being.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,276 contains a desk surface and a sleeping surface both of which can be stowed away for compactness. However, only the desk or sleeping surface can be used at any given time. They cannot be used simultaneously. This is evident because the desk actually provides the structural support for the bed platform. It is preferred to have the desk and the bed deploy and be available independently, for simultaneous use.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,526, for a convertible bed with computer desk, contains a desk/computer surface that can be deployed or hidden away, a sleeping platform that can be deployed and stowed, and variable storage space contained within the overall unit. However, the bed surface deploys by swinging down over the desk, work surface and storage space hence rendering them unusable. As with some of the previously cited prior art, this prohibits simultaneous use of all components while the device is in open and in use.